Lights Out
by Skyhiatrist
Summary: Rule 1 of SciFi: Give a machine a personality, and he won't last for long.


"GIR!"

"Yes Master?"

"Come here at once!"

"Okie-dokie!"

The little robot zoomed down the elevator tube and into his Master's lab. He never really thought about how strange it was to know this place off by heart, or at least by the little mechanical chip nestled snugly beneath his breast place. He knew ever wire, every panel, every button, and he knew how it all worked. He knew how it all fitted together. But they weren't his toys; they were Master's.

"GIR, I want you to reconfigure some power from the house into the main computer, it's starting to flicker and it's driving Zim mad!"

"Yes, Master," GIR replied in his usual cheery tone. He skipped back to the elevator tube and shot up to the living room, landing gently on his behind. His robotic eyes scanned the room, looking for something that could spare a little energy. The television? Oh no, not that. Never that. The refrigerator? But then the food would spoil.

"Hmm," GIR mused thoughtfully. His eyes flickered to an upward shelf. "I see you watching me Palisades," he said with a little giggle. He leapt up to grab the pig, before gravity brought the little android straight back down.

-

CRASH.

Zim rolled his eyes at the ceiling. Sometimes that robot could be such a pain. Sure, he was good for some things, but he was programmed to be good for _everything_. He was meant to be infallible, the perfect slave. GIR was not that at all. GIR was wild, unpredictable, and basically a walking tornado. Everything he touched tended to break; Zim couldn't count the hours he had spent cleaning up the mess GIR could make with just ten minutes in his lab. Zim shook his head as another crash sounded. No, GIR wasn't like the other SIR units at all.

-

Deep within his memory banks, GIR recalled that there was something he was meant to be doing. Something very important that Master had ordered him to do. Not asked, Zim never asked, but then, he never had to. GIR knew that he was bound to his Master through thick and thin. Everywhere Zim went, GIR went too. Unquestioningly, loyally, always. GIR didn't really have much of a grasp on the concept of personalities. He couldn't really see that Zim had a tendency to be mean to him and treat him like an object. But GIR knew that he was a robot, something created to make his Master's life easier, and he also seemed to know that his own life wasn't that bad.

"C'mere, Palisades!" he said with a cute laugh. He knew that Master might shout if he found him not doing as he was told, but it wouldn't take Master long to forget either. Master knew that, deep down, he could always rely on GIR.

-

THUD.

"GIR!"

Really, what was that robot doing? Didn't he understand that Zim had a mission? There just wasn't time to run around idly when the earth was just sitting around, waiting to be conquered. And then there was the Dib. If GIR made too much noise, the Dib was sure to come investigating in his nosey human way, and Zim had to concentrate entirely on getting the computer to function properly.

Zim sighed. He wasn't at all sure why the Tallest had given him a malfunctioning robot, but he could only assume that they hadn't known. After all, GIR was a prototype, given to Zim especially because of the importance of his mission. And yet... Zim was still waiting to see GIR do anything special. To do something better than all of the other SIR units could. To do something _as well _as the other SIR units could. He supposed he could always contact the Tallest and request a replacement...

BANG.

...but something was holding him back. It wasn't so much the idea of what Zim would do without GIR, it was the thought of what would happen to GIR if Zim did get a replacement. Would he be sent back to the factory on Irk, disassembled and packed away for spare parts? Zim shuddered. No, you just couldn't do that to a robot like GIR. He was so real he was almost Irken. It would be murder.

-

"No, Palisades, bad piggy!" GIR squealed as he chased the toy across the floor. It skidded into the kitchen, with the small robot trailing close behind. He tripped on a loose wire and went crashing to the floor with such a force that the whole house shook.

"GIR!"

"Uh-oh," said the little android guiltily.

"Get to work diverting that power, or so help me I will rain doom upon you!" In his central projection unit, GIR could almost see his master shaking his fist.

"OK!" he shouted. He looked back to the wire he had fallen over. It was the lead used to send power to the cameras on the front lawn. With a shrug, GIR yanked the plug out of the outlet and slung the cable over his shoulder, humming a little tune the whole time. Then he headed to the front door, making sure to put his dog-suit on first, and stepped outside to disconnect the lead from the back of the camera.

"Quiet Palisades," he muttered, sticking his tongue out as he tried to wrench the connector free. GIR heard something crackle, but he didn't pay it much attention. After all, the camera was already disconnected. There was no electricity running through it.

"Come out you!" he said in a mad tone. There was a small snap as the connector broke off, leaving a small amount of wire sticking out of the back of the camera. GIR sighed, and then reached down into the hole to fetch the wire out.

-

KABOOM.

"GIR!" Zim shouted, once again. A noise that loud was bound to attract the attention of not only the Dib, but the whole street. He ran to his monitors to look out onto the front lawn. Red writing on the bottom of the screen declared; 'Back Up Power Only' on the camera over the front door. Zim narrowed his eyes.

On the pathway there was a small lump, charred black and smoking. Zim couldn't quite make out what it was.

"GIR!" he shouted. There was no reply. "GIR?" he tried again, this time a little more uncertainly. He looked back to the monitor. "GIR," he whispered, and ran to the elevator tube.

He was out of the front door before he even thought of putting on his own disguise. It was strange to think it, but Zim didn't care who saw him. It wasn't important right now. He touched a hand to the material that had fused itself to GIR's body. The explosion had thrown the hood of the costume right back, and now two large blue-green eyes looked up at Zim.

"Ma. Ma. Master," GIR said in a low monotone.

"GIR! What happened?" Zim said urgently, trying to drag GIR into the house but finding that the robot's metal body was too hot to touch. He rushed inside, grabbing a strip of material from the sofa and wrapping it around his hands. He pulled the limp robot inside and shut the door, blocking out the sunlight. It was strangely dark inside the house, with no television or lamp casting light on the scene. All that Zim could really make out was the glow of GIR's robotic eyes.

"It exploded," GIR said weakly, with none of the usual pep that went with that statement. Zim examined the body of his little android unit.

"I think you've shorted out your power cables," he murmured. GIR didn't seem to hear him. "I can fix you."

"Where have you gone, Master?" GIR said suddenly, his voice tinged with panic.

"What are you talking about GIR? I'm right here," Zim said, a little impatiently. He waved a hand in front of GIR's eyes, but they didn't follow.

"Is it night time already?" GIR asked. "Have I missed the Angry Monkey show?" Zim ignored him and pried open GIR's head plate. A cloud of smoke rose up to greet him and then Zim saw it. The chips and wires and motherboards that comprised GIR's brain had all melted. It was nothing but useless metal and silicone. Zim knew he couldn't fix that. Not without changing GIR completely.

"Oh," he said.

"What is it Master?" GIR asked.

"Nothing," the small Irken lied quickly, shutting the panel. "What were you doing GIR?" Zim asked in a despairing voice, the unfamiliar feelings of guilt and grief trying to make their presence known.

"I. I. I. I. I. I was rerouting power," GIR said, apparently not noticing the faults in his own speech.

"Were you?" Zim replied sadly, cradling the little robot's head in his lap, knowing that it was just a matter of time.

"Me and Palisades. Me and. Palisades. Were playing. We," GIR said.

"You what?" Zim urged, but he could already see the lights beginning to dim.

"I. I. Chased him. He ran away. I wanted to. To Catch. Ca- Ca-"

"Oh," Zim said.

"Are you. You. Are you going to take overoverover the Earth today?" GIR asked.

"Possibly," Zim replied.

"I. I. Knew youyou could do it. I was telling Palisades. I saidsaid that Master could do it. The Tallest sent Master because he was the best one. And and then Palisades ran, and I chased him. And I said we could all watch. Watch the Angry Monkey Show together. GIR. GIR, Master and Palisades. I love that show. I like to watch

Zim kept his head up just long enough to watch the lights go out.


End file.
